Portable exercising device



July 5, 1966 B. E. BOREN 3,259,385

PORTABLE EXERCISING DEVICE Filed Feb. 27, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet l k l) /g.7 1 I36 k 1 //4 Ben E Bore/7 IN VEN TOR.

B. E. BOREN 3,259,385

PORTABLE EXERC I S ING DEVI CE July 5, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb.27, 1964 Fig. 4 I06 1/0 /02 92 96 as 78 82 86 a2 I8 68 Ben E BorenINVENTOR.

United States Patent 3,259,385 PQRTABLE EXERCISING DEVICE Ben E. Boren,1723 S. Filimore, Little Rock, Ark. Filed Feb. 27, 1964, Ser. No.347,858 4 Claims. (Cl. 272-43) This invention relates to a novel anduseful portable exercising device and more specifically to an exercisingapparatus including a rotatable pedal assembly analogous to a portion ofa bicycle. The portable exercising device of the instant invention is,in that it includes a pedal assembly, similar to numerous types ofexercising devices presently commercially available but which are farmore expensive in that they include a frame for supporting the personusing the exercising device, normally being provided with a saddle'typeseat.

The portable exercising device of the instant invention includes arotatable pedal assembly and a support frame therefor. However, thesupport frame for the pedal assembly is quite small and inexpensive andmerely provides a support for the rotatable pedal assembly and not asupport for the person utilizing the exercising device. On the otherhand, the small lightweight support frajme for the rotatable pedalassembly of the portable exercising device of the instant inventionincludes means bywhich a support frame may be engaged with the legs of aconventional chair and held in position while a person seated on thechair utilizes the exercising device. In this manner, the exercisingdevice of the instant invention may be readily manufactured at a reducedcost inasmuch as it is more compact. Further, the portable exercisingdevice of the instant invention may be readily transported from onelocation to another and utilized by a person desiring physical exercisemerely by positioning the frame of the exercising device in engagementwith the legs of a conventional chair upon which the person desiring touse the exercising device is seated.

The exercising device further includes brake means of simpleconstruction including means by which a frictional drag may beintentionally applied to the rotatable pedal assembly and may beadjusted as desired so as to provide a predetermined amount of drag.Still further, the exercising device of the instant invention includes asupport frame which is adjustable so as to vary the positioning of theaxis of rotation of the pedal assembly thereof relative to a chair withwhich the exercising device is engaged. In this manner, the exercisingdevice is readily adjustable to suit each person who uses it and inaddition the rotatable pedal assembly thereof includes crank arms whichare adjustable in length thereby enabling the diameter of the circlescribed by each of the pedal portions thereof to be adjusted as desired.

The main object of this invention is to provide a portable exercisingdevice constructed in a manner so as to be readily portable and so as tocoact with a conventional four legged chair enabling the personutilizing the exerciser to be supported from the conventional chair inposition to use the exerciser.

Yet another object of this invention, in accordance with the immediatelypreceding object, is to provide a portable exerciser which may bereadily folded into a compact state for ease in transportation.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a portableexerciser in accordance with the preceding objects including means bywhich the position of the axis of rotation of the pedal assembly thereofmay be adjusted 3,259,385 Patented July 5, 1966 ice relative to thechair with which the portable exercising device is engaged.

A further object of this invention is to provide a portable exercisingdevice including a rotatable pedal assembly having crank arms which maybe varied in length.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a portableexercising device in accordance with the preceding objects includingadjustable brake means for effecting a variable drag on the rotatablepedal assembly thereof.

A final object of this invention to be specifically enumerated herein isto provide a portable exercising device in accordance with the precedingobjects which will conform to conventional forms of manufacture, be ofsimple construction and easy to use so as to provide a device that willbe economically feasible, long-lasting and relatively troubiefree inoperation.

These together with other objects and advantages which will becomesubsequently apparent reside in the details of construction andoperation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, whereinlike numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the portable exercising device of theinstant invention shown operatively associated with a conventional formof four-legged chair, the chair and the lower portion of a person seatedon the chair being shown in phantom lines;

FIGURE 2 is a top plan view of the exercising device;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view takensubstantially upon the plane indicated by the section line 3-3 of FIGURE2;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary transverse vertical sectional view takensubstantially upon the plane indicated by the section line 44 of FIGURE3;

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary elevational view of one foot portion of thesupport frame of the exercising device with portions thereof beingbroken away and shown in section;

FIGURE 6 is a perspective view of the exercising device in a foldedcondition;

FIGURE 7 is a fragmentary perspective view of another portion of thelfOOt assembly illustrated in FIGURE 5 of the drawings and showing themanner in which anchoring tabs may -be mounted on the foot portion forengagement by the lower ends of the legs of the chair with which theexercising device is operatively associated;

FIGURE 8 is an enlarged sectional view taken substantialy upon the planeindicated by the section line 8-8 of FIGURE 7;

FIGURE 9 is a fragmentary side elevational view of a modified form ofexercising device illustrating a second manner in which one leg or thesupport frame may be pivotally secured to the brake housing; and

FIGURE 10 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken substantiallyupon the plane indicated by the section line 1tl10 olf FIGURE 9.

Referring now more specifically to the drawings the numeral 10 generallydesignates the portable exercising device of the instant invention.

The exercising device 10 comprises a support frame generally referred toby the reference numeral 12 including first and second legs 14 and 16and a brake housing 18. The brake housing 18 includes a journal member20 which rotatably receives the right angulated upper end portion 22 ofthe leg 16. The lower end of the leg 16 is provided with a transverselyextending foot portion 24 which extends transversely of and projectsoutwardly on opposite sides of the leg 16. The opposite ends of the footportion 24 are provided with diametrically enlarged anti-skid cups 26and 28.

The housing 18 has a bore 30 (formed therein and it may be seen that afirst section 32 of the leg 14 has one end secured in the bore oropening 30 in any convenient manner such as by welding 34. The free endof the section 32 is te-lescoped within the upper end of a secondsection 36 of the leg 14 and it may be seen from FIGURES l and 2 of thedrawings that the lower end of the section 36 has a transverselyextending foot portion 40 secured thereto. Further, from FIGURES 1 and 3of the drawings it may be seen that a bifurcated clamp 42 is carried bythe longitudinally slotted upper end portion of the section 36 andincludes a threaded actuator 44 for causing :the clamp 42 to urge theupper terminal end portion of the section 36 into tight clampingengagement with the section 32 so as to retain the leg 14 in adjustedextended positions.

The transversely extending foot portion 40 includes a fixed channelmember 46 which extends transversely of the lower end of the section 36and projects outwardly from opposite sides thereof. A pair of elongatedextension members 48 and 50 have one pair of corresponding endspivotally secured to the opposite end portions of the channel member 46by .means of pivot pins 52 and 54. The free ends of the extensionmembers 48 and 50 are also provided with diametrically enlargedanti-skid cups 56 and 58. From a comparison of FIGURES 2 and 6 of thedrawings it may be seen that the extension members 48 and 50 may swingfrom the operative aligned positions illustrated in FIGURES l and 2 ofthe drawings to the collapsed positions generally paralleling thesection 14 illustrated in FIGURE 6 of the drawings.

From FIGURES and 6 of the drawings it may be seen that the fixed channelmember 46 includes a pair of opposite side flanges 60 and 62 which areinterconnected at opposite ends by a .pair of partial bight portions 64and 66. It may be seen from FIGURE 5 of the drawings that the pivot pins52 and 54 are spaced inwardly of the partial bight portions 64 and 66and therefore that the ends of the extension members 48 and 50 remotefrom the anti-skid cups 56 and 58 will engage the adjacent surfaces ofthe partial bight portions 64 and 66 when the extension members 48 and50 are pivoted to the collapsed positions illustrated in FIGURE 6 of thedrawings. In addition, it may be seen that the extension members 48 and50 also engage the inner surfaces of the partial bight portions 64 and66 when the extension members are in the fully extended positionsillustrated in FIGURES 1, 2 and 5 of the drawings.

From FIGURE 3 of the drawings it may be seen that the housing 18includes a lower portion 68 from which the legs 14 and 16 are supportedand an upper half or section 70. The upper half 70 may be secured to thelower half 68 by means of suitable fasteners 72. A pair of journalplates 74 and 76 are disposed within the housing 18 and rotatablyjournall opposite end portions of a shaft 78 whose opposite ends projectthrough openings 80 formed in the opposite side walls 82 of the housing18. Further, it may be seen that the shaft 78 includes a cylindricalenlargement 84 which is disposed between the journal plates 74 and 76.The cylindrical enlargement 84 is fixed on the shaft 78 for rotationtherewith. A pair of fittings 86 and 88 are mounted on the outwardlyprojecting ends of the shaft 78 and each fitting has a bore 90 formedtherethrough which extends at substantial-1y right angles to andintersects the longitudinal center axis of the shaft 78. Each of thebores 90 has one end of a crank arm 92 secured therein by means ofsetscrews 94 and 96 and the free ends of the crank arms 92 have pedals98 rotatably supported therefrom. The pedals 98 project laterallyoutwardly from opposite sides of the crank arms 92 and are rotatablysupported from the free ends of the crank arms 92 for rotation aboutaxes generally paralleling the axis of rotation of shaft '7 8.

From FIGURE 3 of the drawings it may be seen that an anchor pin 1% issecured between the opposite side walls 82 of the housing 18 and thatone end of an arcuate spring 102 is anchored thereto. The arcuate springor shoe is provided with a lining 104 which is secured to its concaveface and the end of the shoe 102 remote from the pin is apertured andhas one end of a tension rod 166 secured therethrough. The other end ofthe tension rod 106 extends through a bore 108 formed through the topwall 118 of the housing 18 and is externally threaded as at 112. A wingnut 114 is threadedly engaged with the externally threaded portion ofthe tension rod 106 and may therefore be utilized to cause the lining104 to be urged into tight frictional engagement with the cylindricalenlargement 84 carried by the shaft 78.

With attention now directed to FIGURE 7 of the drawings it may be seenthat each of the extension members 48 and 50 may be provided with ananchoring tab 116 which is adapted to underlie the corresponding frontleg 118 of the chair 120. Each anchoring tab 116 includes a coiledportion 122 which rotatably receives and is slidably disposed on thecorresponding extension member.

FIGURES 9 and 10 illustrated a further modified form of the inventionincluding a channel-shaped spring clip 124 which is supported from afitting 126 secured to the bottom wall 128 of the housing 18. The formof the invention illustrated in FIGURE 9 of the drawings utilizes a leg130 instead of the leg 16 and it may be seen that the upper end of theleg 130 is pivotally secured within the fitting 126 by means of a pivotpin 132. The channelshaped spring clip 124 is utilized to yieldin-glyretain the leg 130 in the position illustrated in FIGURE 9 of thedrawings and it is to be understood that the leg 130 may be pivoted fromthe position illustrated in solid lines in FIGURE 9 of the drawings outof engagement with the channel-shaped spring clip 124.

In operation, the user 136 of the exercise device 10 first places thefoot portion 40 of the exercising device 10 as illustrated in FIGURE 1of the drawings with the free end portions of the extension members 48and 50 disposed behind the front legs 118 of the chair 120. Then, theleg 14 may be adjusted in length as desired. Thereafter, taking intoconsideration the length of the legs of the user 136, the crank arms 92may be adjusted so as to swing the pedals 98 through circles having apredetermined diameter.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles ofthe invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes willreadily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limitthe invention to the exact construction and operation shown anddescribed, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalentsmay be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention asclaimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A portable exercising device comprising a support frame includingfirst and second upstanding upwardly convergent legs interconnected attheir upper ends for relative rotation about an axis extendingtransversely of the upper ends of said legs, a generally horizontaltlydisposed shaft journaled from the upper end of one of said legs, crankmeans on said shaft :for manually applying torque to said shaft,adjustable brake means mounted on said frame and operable to apply avariable amount of drag on said shaft, elongated transversely extendingand generally horizontally disposed floor engaging anchor foot means onthe lower end of at least one of said legs extending transverselythereof, the opposite end portions of said anchor foot means includinganchor tabs extending outwardly from the adjacent lower surface portionsof said foot means and adapted to be disposed between the lower ends ofeither the front or rear legs of a chair and a supporting surface onwhich the chair is disposed,

said anchor tabs each being of generally flat and planar configurationand of sufiicient dimensions to support said legs when the latter aredisposed thereon, said tabs each being rotatably supported on said footmeans for rotation about the longitudinal axis of said foot meanswhereby said tabs may be maintained in positions resting fiat on saidsupporting surface even though the inclination of said one leg relativeto said supporting surface is varied.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein said tabs project outwardly of theside of said foot means adjacent the lower end of the other of saidlegs.

3. The combination of claim 1 wherein said one leg is longitudinallyextendable.

4. The combination of claim 1 wherein said anchor tabs References Citedby the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,668,709 2/1954 Boylco 272--73 X2,673,088 3/1954 Wentz 272-73 3,056,603 10/1962 Levine et a1. 272-73 XFOREIGN PATENTS 571,624 3/ 1959 Belgium. 1,231,659 4/1960 France.

814,128 5/ 1959 Great Britain.

F. BARRY SHAY, Primary Examiner.

RICHARD C. PINKHAM, Examiner.

includes means securing said tabs to said lfoot means for 15 KETAKRAMER, Asst-Stan, Examiners adjustable positioning longitudinallytherealong.

1. A PORTABLE EXERCISING DEVICE COMPRISING A SUPPORT FRAME INCLUDINGFIRST AND SECOND UPSTANDING UPWARDLY CONVERGENT LEGS INTERCONNECTED ATTHEIR UPPER ENDS FOR RELATIVE ROTATION ABOUT AN AXIS EXTENDINGTRANSVERSELY OF THE UPPER ENDS OF SAID LEGS, A GENERALLY HORIZONTALLYDISPOSED SHAFT JOURNALED FROM THE UPPER END OF ONE OF SAID LEGS, CRANKMEANS ON SAID SHAFT FOR MANUALLY APPLYING TORQUE TO SAID SHAFT,ADJUSTABLE BRAKE MEANS MOUNTED ON SAID FRAME AND OPERABLE TO APPLY AVARIABLE AMOUNT OF DRAG ON SAID SHAFT, ELONGATED TRANSVERSELY EXTENDINGAND GENERALLY HORIZONTALLY DISPOSED FLOOR ENGAGING ANCHOR FOOT MEANS ONTHE LOWER END OF AT LEAST ONE OF SAID LEGS EXTENDING TRANSVERSELYTHEREOF, THE OPPOSITE END PORTIONS OF SAID ANCHOR FOOT MEANS INCLUDINGANCHOR TABS EXTENDING OUTWARDLY FROM THE ADJACENT LOWER SURFACE PORTIONSOF SAID FOOT MEANS AND ADAPTED TO BE DISPOSED BETWEEN THE LOWER ENDS OFEITHER THE FRONT OR REARLEGS OF A CHAIR AND A SUPPORTING SURFACE ONWHICH THE CHAIR IS DISPOSED, SAID ANCHOR TABS EACH BEING OF GENERALLYFLAT AND PLANAR CONFIGURATION AND OF SUFFICIENT DIMENSIONS TO SUPPORTSAID LEGS WHEN THE LATTER ARE DISPOSED THEREON, SAID TABS EACH BEINGROTATABLY SUPPORTED ON SAID FOOT MEANS FOR ROTATION ABOUT THELONGITUDINAL AXIS OF SAID FOOT MEANS WHEREBY SAID TABS MAY BE MAINTAINEDIN POSITIONS RESTING FLAT ON SAID SUPPORTING SURFACE EVEN THROUGH THEINCLINATION OF SAID ONE LEG RELATIVE TO SAID SUPPORTING SURFACE ISVARIED.